Pepi II became pharaoh at the age of 6, and ushered in possibly the
longest reign by an Egyptian pharaoh -- possibly as long as 94 years.
Pepi II is the last well-attested pharaoh of the Old Kingdom. The
First Intermediate Period that follows is a tumultuous time with multiple
royal families and regional kings. Of course, since he was so young,
early power in his reign lay with his mother, Ankhnesmerire II and
possibly her brother, Djau, who was vizier to Pepi I and Merenre.

The gradual decline of the Sixth Dynasty -- indeed, of centralized
Egyptian government at all -- continued with Pepi II's reign. The
earlier policy of consolidating the power of the king had begun to
fail. Near the end of his reign, the aging Pepi II was no longer
able to rule explicitly himself and the power of the regional administrations
would have grown, possibly leading to the breakup of the First Intermediate
Period. At one point, power was so thinly spread that Pepi appointed
a vizier for Upper Egypt and another for Lower Egypt in an attempt
to consolidate his power, but this failed.

Like his predecessors, Pepi II sent trading missions to Nubia and
to Punt., and it was these expeditions and commercial trading efforts
that drained the coffers of the central government. As Pepi continued
to lose power, the central administration for taxation was virtually
ignored by local and regional leaders. During this time, the commercial
and diplomatic relationships with foreign countries also were severed
(except the trade with Byblos). Near the end of his reign, the government
simply collapsed.

Like all the pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty, he built his funerary
complex in South Saqqara, very near the pyramid of Shepseskaf (Fourth
Dynasty), and only a kilometer or so away from his father's and brother's pyramids. The name of his pyramid was "The Established and Living
Pyramid". Three of his wives were buried in subsidiary pyramids near
his own. The pyramid was investigated in the late 1830s by Perring,
and a black granite sarcophagus was discovered with his name and
titles on it. The mummy, however, was never found. Maspero was nearly
buried alive in a cave-in while investigating the burial chambers,
in 1881.

Pepi's funerary monument is usually considered inferior work, poorly
built and shabbily decorated. For some, this is evidence that there
was a general decline in welfare during his reign, probably because
of poor harvests. With less agricultural production, the egyptian
economy suffered greatly. The entirety of his reign can be seen as
a long, slow, unraveling into he upheaval of the Intermediate Period.

Dating references to Neferkare -- the king's "throne name" -- must
be done carefully, as the name is shared by many pharaohs of different
periods. Only when it can be corroborated can it be used. Even with
the higher standard, a reign of between 60 and 90 years seems reasonable.

One of the more charming stories about Pepi concerns a dwarf that
was brought to Memphis by the governor of Elephantine. The young
king sent along detailed instructions regarding the care and safety
of the dwarf, including "24 hour care" to ensure that the dwarf could
be brought to him.

A number of artifacts attest to Pepi II's reign, including a small
alabaster statue of the pharaoh as a child found in the funerary temple
and a calcite statue of Pepi II as a child on his mother's lap, which
confirms that he came to power as a young boy, since he is wearing
the nemes head cloth and ureus, even as a child.